The European Super League Raises Its Ugly Head Once More

Where does this idea of a European Super League keep coming from? Scratch that, WE know where the idea comes from, The European Club Association, the collective of 135 clubs dotted around Europe, keeps trying to push for this dreadful idea to come into fruition. I can’t think of anything I’d rather watch less than a 3 league competition of 60 European sides week in, week out played out in front of empty stadiums on television.

It’s an idea that’s been thrown about since the formation of the Champions League back in 1992 and reappears with regularity to terrify national league associations the length and breadth of Europe. For me, it’s a complete acknowledgement that certain people who own or run certain football clubs have a complete disregard for the bread and butter supporter who turn up every week. According the reports that appeared in today’s Sun, it seems A.C. Milan are the main movers behind this attempt to put the wind up U.E.F.A aided and abetted by the quiet and modest owner of Lyon, Jean-Michel Aulas.

Aulas has been slating the strength of the French League this week, blaming them for Lyon’s exit from the Champions League. Whilst I appreciate that Ligue 1 isn’t as strong as La Liga, The Premiership or Serie A, it’s a bit rich for the owner of Frances richest club to blame everyone else for their tactical naivety in the Champions League. Especially as this season has seen the closest title race in France for 5 years and sees Lyon hanging on to the top spot by a point from Marseille and PSG.

The irony of the ECA is that the Premiership has 5 members, The obvious big 4 but oddly Newcastle United are our fifth member, which for me makes a mockery of the whole set up. I could understand Everton, Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City vying for membership, but Newcastle United? I have yet to meet anyone who supports a Premier League club who would swap the Premiership for a Euro League of 38 games, the appetite for such competition simply exists in the boardrooms of greedy football clubs, detached from the true feelings of the fans. Sure, European competition can give us some truly wonderful nights of great football, but that’s what makes it so special.

It’s the desert to the main meal, a delightful bonus that can offer continental delight to the fans and gives us a different type of atmosphere. I have to say Anfield and Old Trafford’s atmosphere in a Champions League game can be spine tingling, Liverpool have thrived on such atmosphere’s since their magical routing of St Etienne in the 1977 European Cup Quarter Final Second League. Yet, we’ve seen this season half empty stadiums in the group stages of the Champions League across Europe for games where the results didn’t matter, so how would the European Super League change that? Who would be in the top league? Surely it wouldn’t change a thing in regards to the traditional power houses of European football still carving the spoils between them every year, Porto’s magical win in 2004 excluded.

I honestly believe that if the clubs are so determined to break out of their national leagues, then the leagues should let them go. Would the Premiership really die if the big 4 left and allowed the rest of the league to suddenly become competitive overnight? Would French football really miss Lyon? The Catalans wouldn’t care for it if they couldn’t play Real Madrid, Athletico, Valencia and Espanyol, Italian football, riddled with corruption and rampant hooliganism, couldn’t seriously consider bi-monthly visiting sides and the protection of any fan brave and rich enough to attempt a visit to the Stadio Olympico can they?

The one trick they miss here is that in European football, they all whine about the strength of the Premiership but every other league is far more weighted in the protection of its bigger clubs than England. The Premiership’s collective TV deal allows everyone from Manchester United to Watford to receive a flat fee regardless of the clubs size. Sure they receive additional monies for TV appearances and finishing positions, but no other major league in Europe does that. All the major clubs have individual deals, which in turn makes the leagues weaker by comparison, making them weaker when facing English clubs in Europe. They have an easy ride at home, so can’t cope with the raised level of performance they meet against Premiership sides.

To make European Football more competitive, UEFA needs to re-introduce collective TV deals for all leagues, then Jean-Michel Aulas will really have something to complain about when Lyon finish 6th in Ligue 1.

13 Responses to The European Super League Raises Its Ugly Head Once More

The Super League will be fact unless the European Clubs get their economic house in order. The other 16 teams in the EPL can not compete against the big 4 and the other major European Leagues can not compete against the EPL. The words salary cap come to mind as the one sure way out.

didn’t this already happen to europen basketball?? if you ask me it could happen to football too; lets say that this super league doesnt attempt against domestic leagues? lets say it actually helps the small clubs? and even lowers down the number of games per year? would you still think is a bad idea?

Gabriel, I’m sorry but I just don’t like the league format, I never have and I never probably will, I just prefer the two legs knock out all to play for format. I’m old school, so I apologise but it’s never excited me until we get to the proper knock out stages. Once that starts, I enjoy it.

I think a Euro Super League would be be pretty entertaining when you would have teams that are always used to finishing in the top 4 of their leagues or winning it year in and year out having to fight off relegation to Super League 2 if they did do a 3 tiered Super League if it involved the top 60 teams in Europe. .

The Domestic leagues while hurt by the loss of the big teams especially when it comes to income would be wide open where just about any team can come up and win instead of the same 4 teams or so winning the league.

I do wonder how it would play out in terms of having traveling fans. Would fans make travel plans to Germany for an away tie or would they just choose to stay home and watch the game from the comfort of their own couch on the weekends.

The idea of a Super League does intrigue me because how egos of top clubs and players who are used to winning all the time would be bruised when an invariably dip in form happens and a relegation battle occurs.

I too enjoy the knock out phase more than the group stage, but, if there is one thing that European football has done well, is lead the entire world on how the competitions must evolve and adapt, and i am kind of curious of what is going to be the next step, its probably not going to be the superleague (after reading LEECIF’s link) but then, what is it going to be?

As a Barcelona supporter, I wouldn’t mind the creation of a European super league, having just one tier though. The champions league could then showcase the best of the rest (with the winner being promoted to said super league). Then they could get rid of the UEFA cup.

The European Super League is just a tactic used by major clubs to get more money. I doubt any of the big clubs in Europe genuinely want to be part of it but, the notion of a break away European league has proved useful for clubs trying to negotiate a bigger piece of the monetary pie in their respective leagues.